Better Dividend Stock: Home Depot or Harley Davidson?

A 2014 Harley Davidson FLD Switchback. Image source: Harley Davidson.

You've probably never thought of Home Depot (HD 0.02%) and Harley Davidson (HOG -0.29%) as alternative income investments, but their stocks share characteristics that are attractive to all shapes and sizes of dividend investors.

If we limit our look to the three most important dividend metrics, we find that:

• Shares of both Home Depot and Harley Davidson have reasonable dividend yields, from 1.77% to 2.49%.
• Both companies have easily manageable payout ratios, from 41% to 32%.
• And both have increased their annual payouts by triple-digit margins over the past decade.

If one were to weigh these two stocks based equally off of these three metrics, then Harley Davidson takes the cake. To see why, simply scroll through the brief slideshow below.